


No Two Alike

by azhdarchidaen



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Christmas Fluff, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-25
Updated: 2014-12-25
Packaged: 2018-03-03 11:33:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2849438
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/azhdarchidaen/pseuds/azhdarchidaen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>2014 Pacific Rim Secret Santa Gift for kurama2212</p>
            </blockquote>





	No Two Alike

“Would you cease being childish for a moment?” was a phrase that received decent usage year-round in the K-Science lab, but Hermann Gottlieb couldn’t help but notice his use of it generally increased around the holiday season.

It wasn't, most likely, through any heightened sense of annoyance he might suffer. Just that there seemed to be more and more “childishness” to report this time of year. Something about Christmastime got nearly everyone in the Shatterdome -- but in particular, his lab partner -- operating on higher levels of excitement than usual.

It wasn’t that he had a particular vendetta against the holidays -- just the amount of time they seemed to consume. It just didn’t seem prudent to distract oneself from important tasks at hand when the fate of the world could be hanging in the balance. But, come the day after Thanksgiving (although he was generally afforded the courtesy of it starting no earlier), it would be an ongoing battle until the 25th to remain productive in the face of festivity.

...Because “productive” was the opposite of what was happening right now.

“Newton what on _earth_?” he said, removing his glasses to get a better look at what the other scientist was attempting to drag into the room.

“Tendo found it in one of his boxes!” Newt said excitedly. “Apparently it got mixed up with some things he _actually_ meant to bring here last time he moved stuff.”

“What is it?” Gottlieb queried.

“It’s a garland, dude. Can’t you tell?”

Actually, he couldn’t -- it seemed to have a few too many colors to fit into any of the classifications of Christmas decorations he was familiar with. But that wasn’t keeping Newt from dragging it inside the lab.

“I’m gonna hang it up,” the other scientist said, dropping the bizarre decoration on the floor and placing his hands on his hips in resolve.

“...And how long is that going to take you?”

“No idea.”

He sighed. “You haven’t got anything better to occupy yourself with?”

“Better than Christmas?” Newt said incredulously, tugging on the end of the garland again and dragging it across his side of the lab. “Nah!”

Gottlieb just sighed again and wondered -- if he hadn’t already vetoed the playing of Newton’s Christmas mixtape multiple times this year, would the man be more inclined to focus on his work?

“Newton are you sure this is the wisest use of your time?” he tried again. Across the room, Newt just started humming something he didn’t recognize -- but had a sneaking suspicion was Christmas-related.

Apparently he wasn’t going to gain any ground here -- just like every year before this. Really, you’d think he’d learn. But it had seemed worth a shot.

 

***

 

“Are you sure you don’t want me to like… extend this over to your side too?”

“I’m quite sure Newton.”

“But your side looks so _boring_ ,” Newt said. He frowned. He’d never understood why his lab partner refused to get into the holiday spirit -- _any_ holiday spirit, for that matter. Sure, there were other things to worry about, but when things were looking bad wasn’t it worth it to try to brighten them up a bit?

Apparently it was another area of thought where they differed in opinion. Which was a huge bummer, honestly. The lab would look so much cooler if it wasn’t just half-decorated.

“Are you _sure_ you’re sure?” he tried again.

“Absolutely.”

Newt crossed his arms. Time for another tactic -- unflattering references. Hermann apparently hadn’t caught his humming “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch” earlier (he probably shouldn’t be surprise by that…), so he decided to go literary.

“I wasn’t aware I was sharing a lab with Ebeneezer Scrooge,” he said.

Hermann sighed at his desk, pushing his glasses down to look at Newt. “I haven’t got anything against Christmas, Newton -- I just think your time could be put to better use, given the circumstances.”

“You don’t even want some lights or something? I think I have Christmas lights. Somewhere…”

“Newton, I do trust you’re aware that if I was getting in the holiday spirit, I’d be significantly more likely to do something regarding Chanukah.”

Actually, Newt hadn’t thought about that. Oops.

“Well, are you gonna?” he asked.

“I wasn’t particularly planning on it, no.”

“ _So help me Hermann, I_ am _going to rope you into something non-denominationally festive…_ ”

 

***

 

“Dr. Geiszler, why exactly are we doing this?”

“It’s super important Mako, I swear. Now hand me those scissors.”

Newt was sitting victoriously on the floor of the lab in the middle of a flurry of little paper scraps, having successfully recruited another Shatterdome staff member to his cause.

...Well, if by “successfully recruited” you included “asked for help with something and quickly handed her a stack of copy paper you stole from a nearby printer before she could object”. But really, wasn’t that how most great plans started?

Kind of.

He licked the crease of a particularly stubborn sheet, silently giving thanks that he avoided giving himself a papercut, then looked up.

“Remember, if you fold them like this you can get six-pointed ones. Which are significantly cooler. And also accurate. ...Ish.”

“How many of these are you planning on making?” Mako asked, looking over at the stack of paper on the floor between the two of them with apprehension. It was, admittedly, pretty tall.

“Dunno,” he said. “However many we can make before Hermann shows up. And then some, hopefully.”

Mako shrugged slightly, unfolding her current paper snowflake.

“Oh!” she said. “This one’s very pretty!”

“Told you if you folded ‘em right you could get six points,” Newt said proudly.

***

 

“Walking in on a blizzard” was not an event Hermann Gottlieb thought he would ever deal with in the Hong Kong Shatterdome, but he had to admit that it was the best possible description for the sight that met his eyes when he walked into the K-Science lab. Paper flurries were scattered across the floor, as well as the discarded scraps left over from cutting them out, and there was an impressive amount of white all over the space. His lab partner and Mako Mori sat in the middle of the explosion of snowflakes, still at work creating what appeared to be even more.

“What is going on in here?” he eventually asked, not knowing what else to say.

Newt perked up immediately, looking up to see him in the doorway. “Snowflakes!” he said.

“...I can see that, but _why_?”

The other scientist held up a finger, looking a bit as if he were arguing a sophisticated theory -- not explaining why he was making papercrafts on the floor. “One: winter,” he said. “Two: consequently festive. Subpoint two: simultaneously not correlated with specific holidays. Three: I can use them to entice you, with possible applications of fractal geometry.”

Gottlieb felt a small smile creeping up on him -- but really, could he help it? Clearly, Newton had put thought into his time-wasting this time around. And while it wasn’t any more productive than his previous attempts, the thought had to count for something.

“Did he rope you into this too, Miss Mori?” he asked.

She smiled. “I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say some of us needed a break.”

“By the way, ‘some of us’ includes you, dude,” Newton said. “Here, have a pair of scissors. I found extras.”

Gottlieb shook his head, but found himself accepting the offer. “Very well,” he said. “This _once_ … I will assist you in decorating the lab.”

“Hah!” Newt said. “...And can we do the Christmas playlist too?”

He sighed. “I suppose if we’re taking the time in the first place… but I'd like to reiterate only this _once_!”

Newt smirked at him, clearly convinced he’d won something. But Gottlieb wondered if he’d be so cocky in half an hour or so -- after all he had a biologist’s papercraft skills to show up. And _no one_ could make better patterns than a mathematician.

**Author's Note:**

> since I referenced it several times in the fic, I threw together a little playlist intended to resemble Newt's Christmas mixtape -- you can give it a listen at: http://8tracks.com/azhdarchidaen/kaiju-blue-christmas


End file.
